Saturday, September 8, 2018

Leverage




"Battlefield Earth" is a corny science fiction film starring John Travolta as we never seen him before. Don't expect any dancing or hits by the Bee Gees in this production! Instead, we are transported to a dystopian future in which Earth has been conquered by an alien breed of monstrous sociopaths with a terrible sense of humour, and a language that makes Klingon sound like Classical Greek.

The completely illogical plot is based on a novel by L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. I never read the novel, but the movie version contains no overt or covert references to Hubbard's controversial philosophy. I found this somewhat surprising, since Travolta (a Scientologist of long standing) bankrolled the entire project. But perhaps it was just as good, since "Battlefield Earth" quickly got the reputation for being *the* worst movie ever made. I suppose Scientology has enough bad media exposure already, LOL.

But is "Battlefield Earth" really the absolutely worst film ever? I beg to disagree with that assessment. Sure, it's definitely not a *good* movie. Bad acting, bizarre costumes and a lousy dialogue are some of the ingredients. However, if you take it with a large grain of salt and consider it a comedy, it's perfectly possible to survive. You might even find it entertaining. Personally, my interest started to wane after about 90 minutes (the run time is almost two hours), but I suppose a beer or a very strong coffee might take care of that little problem...

Since "Battlefield" wasn't exactly a box-office success, Travolta couldn't make a sequel, so those of us who don't wish to read the original novel are left in the dark about the ultimate fate of the main protagonists. However, I think the battle had a suitable ending, so I'm not entirely dissatisfied. I mean, the good guys really did win! Given Hubbard's slightly paranoid worldview, I expected much worse...

In the end, I give "Battlefield Earth" two stars, but perhaps three-and-a-half for the involuntary entertainment value. Trust me, this will become a classic!

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